The Brush Off Grown Up Style
by ILETUDRIVE
Summary: How I would have ended the relationship between Lucky and Elizabeth and keep their character integrity at the same time. It's short. It's Complete. Try it Please.
1. Breaking up for Dummies

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Notes: This fic was based on a challenge on another board on how would you have broken up Lucky and Elizabeth when she found out he didn't love her, while at their wedding. A lot of the responses were quite violent (lol). Anyway I threw this one together and set it when she first returned from faking her death. I tried to keep the characters in character, something GH doesn't seem to care about. There's only 3 parts I hope you take the ride.

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Disclaimer: I own only the power to abuse.

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Distribution: Just ask first.

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Feedback: Always a bonus.

Stephanie

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The Brush Off Grown Up Style

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~Airport~

Lucky Spencer was uncomfortable. In fact he couldn't remember ever being so uncomfortable. Even his therapy sessions were easier than this. He shifted on the plastic seat and began tapping his foot. Maybe the difference was because while he wanted to go to therapy, wanted to get better. The last thing he wanted was to be here, and have the conversation that he had been dreading.

He was full of nervous energy and began to gnaw on his fingernails, as he glanced at the clock on the wall again. 11:54. He'd been at the airport for over 2 hours. He had wanted to be here early but her flight had been delayed, so it had been a long wait. But now the end was in sight, the last report was that it would be here at noon.

High noon to be specific. The time that most battles had commenced in the old west. The time that normally only one person walked away at 12:01, okay maybe they limped away, but you got the point. It was the time for confrontations.

By now he was rocking on the chair and the old plastic seat squeaked in protest but Lucky was oblivious to it. Between the tapping, the biting, and the rocking, he had his hands full. The other people and the nearby National Guardsman were not, however. In fact the Guardsman had already been on the radio alerting others to the wild-eyed, frazzled haired partially blonde boy, who was lost in an oversized coat.

Lucky was not aware of the attention he was attracting, he was too busy trying to think of the right words to end a relationship without breaking a heart. He had been thinking about this for weeks now, but he couldn't come up with anything that wouldn't break her heart. And because of that he felt extremely guilty.

He'd browsed the over priced bookshop in the airport, and he had seen all of these How-to books. _How To Build Your Dream Home, How To Retire at 30, How To Be A Success, _he glanced at the bag holding the book beside him, that one had looked interesting. But he hadn't found a book with the title of _How To Break Up With a Girl Who Did Everything For You Including, Quitting Friends, Quitting School, and Dying_. And he had spent a long time looking. He'd also looked for the Dummies books and unfortunately there was no Breaking Up for Dummies books either.

So he was on his own. At one time that wouldn't have bothered him, but that was before he'd had his brain re-wired. He wasn't, as some people seemed to think, stupid. But he also wasn't as smart as he once had been either. He was working on getting better, he had most of his memories back, thanks to Kevin Collins. But although he remembered what happened, he didn't have the feelings that went with the memories. More specifically he didn't have the feelings he'd once had for Elizabeth, anymore.

11:58. She was almost here, he shifted and looked at the plane that had rolled to a halt at the exit ramp. It wasn't that he didn't care about her, because he did. He was always going to be grateful for what she had done for him. He was always going to owe her. But gratitude and obligation weren't the foundation of a lasting relationship, were they? And if you didn't include their history from years ago, that was all that was left.

12:00. He'd run out of time and he still didn't know what he was supposed to say. His eyes searched the departing passengers looking for Elizabeth Webber. He was so filled with worry over what was going to happen that he almost missed her entirely. He got slowly to his feet when he heard his name. He closed his eyes briefly then opened them and looked at the boots that had stopped a few feet away from him.

Her brown-heeled boots went halfway up her calf and led into a pencil thin light brown skirt that began around her knees. She was wearing a waist length brown leather coat that was unbuttoned, exposing a soft off-white sweater that looked so soft that he longed to run his hands over it. Her hair was longer than he remembered and the soft brown curls fell to her shoulders. Her ivory skin had a faint flush at the moment that set off her peaches and cream complexion. Her wide mouth was dusted pink and curved into a slight smile. Her blue eyes were sparkling with a mixture of nervousness and curiosity. The soft angles of her face had never seemed lovelier to him.

"Lucky are you okay?"

The concern in her voice penetrated and he realized that he had been staring at her. Judging from the expression on her face, she'd obviously been trying to get his attention for awhile. "I'm fine Elizabeth." He reached for her and drew her into an awkward hug.

Her unique scent filtered into his system. It wasn't the same sweet scent that he remembered. It was musky, mysterious, almost sinful, and the power of it hit him like a punch to the gut.

Elizabeth stepped back and searched his face. "It's good to see you Lucky."

"You too." Shaking off his unexpected attraction he gestured to the chairs by the window. "Can you sit for a minute?"

Elizabeth nodded and moved gracefully over to perch on one of the black plastic seats. "I meant to…"

"I wanted to…"

They both spoke at the same time, and then laughed uneasily. "Go ahead." Elizabeth said.

"I wanted to thank you for everything you did for me." Lucky started slowly. "We didn't have much time to talk on the phone, before you caught the plane here. I know how much you risked in helping me, and I don't know how to thank you."

"You don't have to thank me Lucky. I did it because I wanted too, not because I had too." She leaned back in the chair. "I meant to ask you. How much do you remember about me? About us?"

Lucky fidgeted again, here was his chance. He could take the opportunity she'd unwittingly given him and lie. He could tell her that his memories of their relationship hadn't come back, and that they would never come back. He was ashamed that the idea of doing that was so tempting to him. He obviously needed more therapy.

He felt her eyes on him and looked up, her eyes seemed to be dissecting him. He read the worry in them and realized he had been quiet too long again. He had to watch that. This habit of thinking things out before speaking made some people think that he was still brainwashed, because of the long silences. Speaking of silences. "I remember everything and yet I don't."

"What do you mean?"

He could see the confusion on her face and wondered why it looked so different on her face, as compared to when it was on his own. Shrugging the question away he went on. "I remember you and our past, but at the same time, I don't feel it. It's like watching a movie in my head. It's nothing but images for me."

"Oh." Some of the brightness left her eyes.

"I'm sorry Elizabeth." Lucky shifted causing the chair to squeak.

"It's not your fault Lucky, none of what happened has been your fault."

"It's not your fault either. We were both caught up in something that had nothing to do with us." He tugged at his jacket, it seemed to be fitting him tight across the shoulder. Maybe that was because he had borrowed it from Elton.

"So where does that leave things? How do you feel about that?"

Again she was thinking about him first and the guilt increased. He knew why he had her loyalty, it was because he had helped her so long ago. When he remembered his behavior towards her since he returned, he was amazed that she still felt it. Either she was still in love with him or she was the most loyal person he'd ever met. More loyal than even Foster was. He colored when he realized he was comparing her to a dog. Somehow he didn't think she would be pleased at that comparison.

"Lucky are you sure your okay? I mean should you be here alone?" Elizabeth's hand on his arm caught her attention.

"I'm fine." He patted her hand and felt another jolt of attraction when he did so. "I'm just trying to find the words to tell you something."

"You once told me that the easiest way to get something out was to just spit it out." Her smile was infectious. "It gets the bullcrap out of the way."

"Dad sure knows how to turn a phrase." Lucky smirked in recognition. "Of course he used different words."

"How is Luke?"

"He's doing good. It was touch and go for a while. But it seems that he's come out of everything with a new lease on life. He's acting at least 10 years younger then he normally does." His eyes met hers and they both burst out laughing. The laughter brought the first easy moment between the once inseparable pair.

"I don't know if that's a good thing." Elizabeth said when she regained her composure. "Luke acted like he was in his 20's anyway, that would mean that he's liking like a…"

"A teenager." Lucky finished for her with a nod of his head. "At least he seems to be directing all of it in mom's direction." He caught her questioning look. "He's determined to win her back."

"That's great. I hope they make it. I know they still love each other." She paused then went on. "When it is a love like that, there's nothing that can ever end it for good. A love like that is very hard to find and once you have it the last thing you want to do is lose it."

"But it's already been lost." Lucky blurted out.

"What? Your parents don't have that anymore?"

"Us. I'm talking about us. Our love has changed. I know this is totally unfair, especially after all that you've done for me. But I don't have the same feelings that I used to have for you." He sucked n a breath then decided to go for broke. "I care about you, I really do. But I don't know if I can love you the way you want to be loved. The way you deserve to be loved."

"We've both changed Lucky. I think we both knew that, long before we could ever admit it." She shifted a little closer and lowered her voice. "I think we didn't want to admit it, because that would mean that we had failed."

"Is it failure? Or is it that too much has happened?" He asked. "With both rounds of brainwashing, I know it was very hard to go back to what we once had."

"Lucky I think that was our main problem. We tried to go back to what we had before the fire, instead of starting new." She reached for her purse and began to dig inside of it. "We both changed in the year you were away, we just didn't want to admit it."

"I know the brain…"

"No it was more than that," her eyes searched his. "The people we were the night of the fire don't exist anymore, and we were too stubborn to admit that. The boy I fell in love with all those years ago, loved his family, computers, and wanted to sing for his supper."

"And the girl I fell in love with was so much stronger then she ever thought she was, smarter than she thought she was, and wanted to paint the world the way she wanted it to look." He smiled at the memory.

"They were also 2 kids so wrapped up in each other it was impossible to see where one ended and the other began. That means when I lost you, that girl who fell in love with you died too. The Elizabeth I grew into was born the night of the fire, much like the Elizabeth you fell in love with, was born on that awful Valentine's Day."

He could see the truth in her words and wondered why he hadn't seen it so much earlier, it would have been less painful for both of them, if he had. "I changed too, I love different things now."

"Like photography."

"Yes I still like that." Lucky shifted sheepishly. "I'm sorry I tried to force you into doing something you didn't want to do. Just because my dreams had changed I shouldn't have tried to change yours."

"You weren't really yourself, and I didn't tell you no." She brushed a stray curl from her face. "There were 4 of us in this relationship. The Lucky and Elizabeth of old, and the Lucky and Elizabeth of today, who were trying to be like the ones of old."

He nodded slowly. "We should have started new, when I came back."

"Maybe." She held out a small ring that he had given her to replace the diamond he had once given her. "But there were no guarantees we would have worked."

Lucky took the ring and quickly stuffed it in his pocket. "Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?" He couldn't help but press her, he had figured that she would be angry or at least upset. He wondered why he was disappointed that she wasn't.

"I'm a little sad because we have been through so much together. But I'm fine." She smiled at him.

"I was afraid I would hurt you. You gave up so much for me, and all I'm saying is thanks and goodbye." Why was he bringing these things up? She'd accepted that they were over, in fact she'd seemed to expect it, so why was he pushing this? He'd made his decision and she obviously agreed with it, so why was he suddenly regretting his choice?

"Lucky you didn't ask me to do those things for you, the choices I made in the end were all mine." She sighed and then clarified her statement. "Yes there were times that you did make my decisions for me, but in the end, I decided to help you because I wanted to."

Lucky studied his hands. "You mean when I pushed you into the Face of Deception competition?"

"Yes and…" She crossed her legs and looked away.

"When I made you give up your friendship with Jason." It was hard to say the words, hard to mention his name. Although he was ashamed of his behavior both towards her and to Jason he still couldn't help the feelings of jealousy.

"You didn't make me," she corrected him. "In the end it was my choice. I could have stood up to you, and defended my friendship with Jason, but I didn't." She sighed softly. "I didn't and I can't lay that at your feet, because I made the ultimate decision not you."

"I wondered," he paused then forced himself to ask the question he didn't know if he wanted to know the answer to. "Did you see Jason while you were gone?"

Elizabeth sighed heavily and studied him through hooded eyes for a long time before she finally spoke. "If I said I did would that be your cue to get angry with me? To accuse me of not being upset, over our ending, because I had been with Jason? That I was cheating on you with Jason, even though we were over before I ever left?"

"No." He didn't think that, did he? "I just…just."

"Lucky you need to be clear on one thing. And for the sake of the friendship we once shared I really need you to hear me." She placed her hand on his and waited until he met her gaze.

"I'm listening."

"You and I are over because we're not the same people who fell in love over 4 years ago, not because of Jason. Would we still be together today if the fire hadn't happened?" She shrugged. "I don't know. I'd like to think so. I'd like to think that we would have grown and changed together instead of apart. But we'll never know, because, our first chance was taken from us by Faison and the Cassadines. And our second chance was taken from us, by us. Because of our refusal to see each other with new eyes. But it had nothing to do with other people, it had to do with you and me wanting different things."

The tears that stung the back of his eyes were unfamiliar and the lump of guilt vanished. "I know."

She got to her feet and rubbed a finger under her right eye to stem a tear before it fell. "I will always love you Lucky Spencer. And I don't regret helping you."

He stood as well and hugged her, this time there was no awkwardness only a sense of closure. The hug between the old friends went on for a long time, neither one wanted to be the first to end it. It was perhaps the first pure moment they'd had between them in years.

Lucky finally stepped back and rubbed at his eyes. "Come on lets get you home."

"Actually I'm meeting my Gram." Elizabeth rubbed at the mascara trail that had formed from the tears she hadn't been able to stem.

"I haven't even seen Mrs. Hardy." Lucky felt guilty again. It suddenly dawned on him that he'd only seen her once since he'd come home at all. A horrifying thought suddenly occurred to him. "Did she know that you weren't dead?"

"Of course. I would never hurt her like that." Elizabeth admonished him.

"Good." He picked up the bag with his book. "We're okay right? I mean we're still friends?"

Elizabeth nodded. "I hope we always will be."

"If I have anything to say about it we will." Lucky vowed taking a step away. He studied her and was again struck with how beautiful she was. The pretty 16 year old had blossomed into a graceful 21 year old. Regret rose up in him again and prompted him to speak. "Have you ever wondered if we could have a third chance?"

Her smile was more brilliant than he had seen as she shook her head. "Dreams of gold Spencer, dreams of gold." With that she turned around and walked away.

Lucky watched her go and was struck with a strong sense of loss as she disappeared into the crowd. With a sigh he turned and headed for the door. They were still friends that was more then he'd hoped for. A pretty girl with long straight red hair walked past him with a smile. His frown turned into an answering smile and he changed direction and trailed the girl with the Pippi Longstocking hair.

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~Plane~

"You just made it." The flight attendant informed her and took her coat to hang it up, while Elizabeth headed for first class and her seat.

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"Flight 392 now continues its flight to Ontario, Canada. If everyone will take their seat we'll get on our way."

Her companion waited until the belt was fastened before speaking. "How did it go with Lucky?"

Elizabeth met the curious blue eyes and smiled. "Better than I hoped."

"Are you ready for this?"

Elizabeth's eyes sparkled in anticipation. "I've never been more ready."


	2. Hoping for a chance

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The Brush Off Grown Up Style

Part II

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~Plane~

Elizabeth kept her eyes closed while the plane took off. She wasn't afraid of flying, she just wasn't crazy about the takeoff, the turbulence, or the landing parts of flying. Other than that she had no problem at all.

She felt the plane level off and shifted her attention to the window. They were above the clouds now, the earth, only visible through patches in the clouds. It always amazed her how ordered the ground looked when she saw it from thousands of feet above. It looked like those images of maps on a cartoon, each section clearly divided by a strip of road or water. It looked almost pristine from so far above, when in truth it was a jumbled mess.

She tilted her head and sighed into the window, she should be used to jumbled messes, she'd certainly had enough practice with them. But that was in the past, she resolved, taking charge of her messes, of her life was the only thing she wanted for Christmas this year. She frowned, that wasn't true. It wasn't the only thing she wanted, although it might be the only thing she'd get. She huffed out a breath and settled back in the seat. If the next part didn't go as well as the first part had, she wouldn't be destroyed. Unhappy yes, but not destroyed.

"So does that sigh mean you're ready to tell me what happened with Lucky?"

Elizabeth turned and a genuine smile crossed her features when she saw love and concern staring her in the face. "It really went well. It's strange, considering Lucky has been back for about a year and a half now, but I feel that this was the first time we really talked since his return."

Audrey Hardy tucked her needlepoint away, as grateful as she was that Elizabeth was ready to talk, she couldn't help but feel a pang at those words. If they were true it meant that Elizabeth had, had a very lonely and trying year. "Do you really feel like that?"

"I do, I guess didn't realize how little Lucky and I really talked until just a little while ago," her eyes were sad at the realization. "Part of it has to be blamed on the brainwashing that's true enough, but part of it has to do with us changing. I am glad that Nikolas was right about how well his therapy is going. I could see glimpses of the boy I first fell in love with a lifetime ago. I'm also glad that he realizes that we have changed and wasn't expecting us to go back to the way things used to be. He'd decided it was best to break up as well. He realized that we've both changed and need to move forward separately, this time."

"That's a big step for him."

"I know," she wrinkled her nose and her laugh was only slightly bitter. "Lord knows it took me long enough and I didn't even have the brainwashing excuse to fall back on."

"You keep saying that like you expect me to condemn you. I'm not going to blame you for your loyalty to someone you loved, or your refusal to abandon them when they needed your help," Audrey chided her granddaughter. "The only thing I wish was that you hadn't lost yourself in the process."

Elizabeth closed her eyes in reflection. She had lost herself in her desire to help Lucky, to be the person that Lucky had once loved. "I did do that didn't I?"

"You had help." Audrey tried to soften the blow. "But in the end it was definitely unhealthy, and it left you isolated from everyone but Lucky. Everyone, including me. But I have to take part of the blame for that. I didn't push like I should have."

"I doubt I would have listened if you had," Elizabeth squeezed her hand. "You came through when it meant the most though. When I needed someone so bad that I couldn't even admit it, you were there. I would have gone crazy these last few weeks if you hadn't been."

Audrey covered Elizabeth's hand with her own. "Darling nothing and no one could have kept me away from you. Especially not after you told me what you were going to do."

"I think Sonny found out the hard way, just how determined you could be. I believe his description was an iron fist inside a velvet glove?" Elizabeth arched an eyebrow at her grandmother, she still hadn't heard the whole story.

Audrey smiled at the memory, Elizabeth was right she had taken Mr. Corinthos by surprise, she had intended to.

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"May I help you?"

The tall dark-haired man spoke as soon as she got off the elevator. Audrey searched her memory for his name. Elizabeth had mentioned it before, but she had been too busy lecturing to pay attention. She finally spoke when he raised an eyebrow in her direction. "My name is Audrey Hardy, I would like to see Mr. Corinthos."

He nodded and knocked on the closed penthouse door.

"What Johnny?"

The call came from inside the room, and the man she now knew was Johnny disappeared inside of it. Audrey fidgeted, straightening her coat, her necklace and was tempted to pull out her compact to check her appearance. She wisely bit down on that urge, harshly reminding herself she wasn't here to impress but to get her way.

"You may go in," Johnny opened the door and held it for her.

"Thank you." Audrey entered the room and couldn't help but make a close study of the penthouse. She hadn't been here in close to 9 years. It certainly looked different than it had when the Donley's had lived here. Of course she knew that it had recently been redone because of an explosion. Her eyes came to rest on the other person in the room and she realized that the room had changed more than just cosmetically, and the changes had come from the man in front of her. "Thank you for seeing me Mr. Corinthos."

"Please call me Sonny," he shot her a smile, showcasing his trademark dimples and gestured to the wet bar. "May I offer you a drink?"

"No thank you Mr. Corinthos." Her hand tightened on her purse strap. "I'll come right to the point I would like you to send me to my granddaughter."

Sonny moved past her and poured himself a drink. "I wasn't aware that Elizabeth was out of town."

"Mr. Corinthos I do not have the time nor the energy to play this game with you." She sharpened her tone causing him to focus on her. "3 days ago Elizabeth came to me and told me that Nikolas was going to poison her that night. That she was going to pretend to die in order to gain information to help Lucky, and also to protect herself from Helena."

Sonny sipped his drink and frowned. "That's an interesting story."

Audrey glared at him and forced herself to continue. "I know she came to you for help in getting out of the country safely. With Jason Morgan out of town, and Luke Spencer missing, you are the only person with the resources who could help her and Nikolas pull this idiocy off."

"Poisons can be very deadly, you shouldn't play around with them. I doubt she would. Perhaps she just went out of town."

Her temper was something that she had always fought to control. Steve had once compared it to a volcano exploding, the damage was far flung and widely felt when it finally did go off. She was striving to hold onto it now. She knew he was only following her granddaughter's wishes, and she should be grateful that he was so determined to protect her. But he really was treading on her last nerve. She counted to 5 in her head and then gamely tried again.

"I am very aware of how deadly poisons can be, and how dangerous drugs, giving the illusion of death are as well. Do you really think I would let Elizabeth take a drug like that, without knowing everything there is to know about it?" She moved closer when he didn't reply. "It's true that Elizabeth only told me 4 hours before her meeting, and I spent the first half hour of those hours trying to convince her not to do this. When that failed I then spent the next three hours, researching every known risk and possible side effect to the drug she was going to take. I then spent time threatening Bobbie and Laura about what would happen if my granddaughter were injured in her attempt to help Lucky. Please don't insult me any further by playing this little game. You know where she is, you don't have to tell me where, you just have to arrange for me to join her."

"Mrs. Hardy…"

Audrey ignored him and continued on. "I've already made arrangements with work and have given them the plausible excuse of wanting to see my son, so there will be no questions, no one looking for me."

"Mrs. Hardy," he tried again.

"They don't even know that she's gone." Audrey's temper finally snapped. "It's been three days and no one has even noticed that she's gone. Bobbie and Nikolas knew of course, but Tammy didn't, Ned didn't, her co-workers didn't, her friends she once had in school didn't. She's dropped off the face of the earth and no one has even noticed." Her voice rose and the pain that she was feeling was evident. "No one cared."

Sonny sighed and set the glass on the tray. "I'm sure that's not true."

"It is. And do you want to hear the truly awful part?" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "If Elizabeth hadn't told me what she was doing, I would have been have been one of those people. I wouldn't have noticed that she was gone. That's how isolated she has become. Mr. Corinthos please, she doesn't deserve to be alone anymore."

Sonny was quiet for a minute while he studied her face, and Audrey met his gaze without flinching. 

"She's fine, there were no side effects from the drug, I had her checked immediately and she was monitored the whole trip." Sonny admitted. "No one but Helena or Nikolas knows that she's supposed to be dead. No one is supposed to miss her, if they do, they need to think that she's just out of town."

"But they're not even asking," Audrey hissed. "I'm her family, she once said I was the only one in her family that ever gave a damn for her." She fought the urge to try to shake the truth out of him, she had a feeling that wouldn't go over very well. "I need to be with her."

Sonny shifted his attention to the brown liquid in his glass, and she waited for a few minutes while he considered her request. When he focused on her, she could see the refusal in his eyes. Before he had the opportunity to speak she turned and opened the door.

Johnny snapped to attention and focused on her immediately.

"Hello Mr.…" She left the question in the air.

"O'Brien ma'am. Johnny O'Brien."

"It's nice to meet you Mr. O'Brien." Audrey held out a hand. "I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot more of each other. To prepare I wanted to ask you a question." She held onto his hand when he went to let go and waited until he focused on her eyes again. "How do you feel about manhandling old women?"

"Man…" he trailed off and looked past her to his boss. Sonny rubbed a hand over his eyes and shook his head.

"Yes manhandling." Audrey dropped his hand. "It seems I have no recourse but to stalk Mr. Corinthos, and since your job will no doubt be to remove me, forcibly," she paused to let that sink in, "several times a day, I wondered how you felt about it."

Sonny groaned loudly behind her and Johnny's eyes widened. Audrey ignored the distress of both men and continued on.

"I won't have a weapon and I won't fight you so there won't be any need to use violence," she arched a brow in question. "Unless you like to hit old women?"

"I don't hit old…" Johnny stopped when Sonny groaned again. "I mean I don't hit women at all unless there is no other choice."

"Well that is a relief. I have no desire to be injured." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "So do you think I should use the element of surprise? I realize you won't give me his schedule. I've never actually stalked anyone before so this will be a new experience fo…"

"Enough." Sonny crossed to the door and she turned to face him. "You win. I'll make the arrangements, be ready to leave in an hour."

"Thank you Mr. Corinthos," she inclined her head at Johnny. "Mr. O'Brien." She moved to the elevator, determined not to sag in relief until she was safely in her car. Her gamble had paid off. She turned in surprise when she heard her name. 

"Yes Mr. O'Brien?" Audrey moved on the elevator but held the door open button on the control pad.

"I just want to clarify something," Johnny began. "You shouldn't call yourself an old woman. I've seen you in the chorus line at the Nurse's Ball for years now, anyone with legs like that isn't old."

Startled she dropped her hand, thankfully the door closed before she had to think up a reply. She sagged back against the wall, both in relief, and in surprise.

"Gram?" Elizabeth tried again. Whenever she'd questioned Audrey on how she got Sonny to send her to her, her gram had gotten a strange look on her face and wouldn't give any details.

"Yes?" Audrey blinked the memory away.

"I said I was glad that you showed up. It was nice having someone to talk too if I wanted. Someone who didn't offer opinions or condemn me for my choice, but just listened." A part of her found it hard to believe that her Gram had been willing to give her the space she needed.

"I would do anything for you." Audrey shifted slightly then decided to broach the subject again. "Are you sure about going to Canada?"

"Since the plane has been in the air for about an hour now, it's a little late to change my mind." Elizabeth tried for flippant.

"Elizabeth."

Obviously she had failed. "So much for not condemning my choices," she grumbled. "I'm going to Canada because I need to see him. I thought you understood that. And if you didn't understand, you at least respected my decision."

"I do." Audrey cried. "But I won't lie to you Elizabeth, I am worried."

It was hard to stay angry with someone when all you could see in their face was concern born out of love. "I know you are gram," she patted her hand. "I guess I'm still a little sensitive when it comes to someone questioning my decisions. I've had enough second guessing to last me a lifetime."

"I'm not trying to make you doubt your choices. I'm just worried. You've only just ended a relationship, you shouldn't rush into another one. I know you're and Lucky's relationship wasn't healthy and was over a long time ago, but that is all the more reason for you to take your time and discover who you are before beginning another relationship."

"Gram I'm not going to see Jason so I can start a relationship with him. You're right I'm nowhere near ready to jump back into a relationship."

Relieved Audrey let out a breath. "I just thought that," she trailed off. "You were so firm in seeing him that I thought you might think you were in lo.." she trailed off again, no use in giving her any ideas.

"Gram I will readily admit to being confused about a lot of things in my life, but there is one thing that I am positive of. And that is that I'm not in love with anyone, including Jason." Elizabeth shifted as far as the safety belt would allow her so she was sideways in the roomy first class seat. "But I do love him and want him back in my life."

She could see the confusion on Audrey's face and hurried on. "Jason, next to Lucky of a few years ago, is the best friend I've ever had. I want that friendship back. In fact next to me getting my life in order, it is the most important thing to me."

"I know you and Lucky were friends long before anything romantic ever happened." Audrey looked away as old guilt welled up in her again. "He was there for you after you were attacked in a way I couldn't be, no in a way I wouldn't let myself be."

She still couldn't say the word rape, Elizabeth noticed that but let it go. "Yes he was. It wasn't entirely your fault Gram. You tried to help in your own way. It was just my being raped brought up memories that you didn't want to face. In the end you did though, and until then and even with that, I had Lucky. He was like a lifeline for me, while I found the strength to heal myself and move on."

"You have always been strong Elizabeth. Much stronger than I am."

"I don't believe that. You're strong too, we just face things differently. Remember what we learned in therapy? If it works for one person, it doesn't mean it will work for another person. You did what you did in order to live with things and so did I."

"And your way was facing your attacker and then putting him in the past, while you moved on into a life with Lucky." Audrey wished she had dealt with her demons in that way, but unfortunately sometimes they still haunted her.

"Yes," Elizabeth bit her lip and thought back to that year with Lucky, it had been the best of her life.

~*~

"I have to admire your restraint in not saying I told you so."

Audrey set her drink down and looked out Elizabeth. "About what?" Elizabeth had been so quiet she had thought she'd fallen asleep.

"You once warned me about building a life around someone, instead of for myself. You were right, but I didn't listen to you. I built my life around Lucky, and when he was gone, I was destroyed for such a long time." Sighing she went on. "Then one night, one awful night, an unlikely friendship happened. It's strange that at the darkest times in my life I've managed to make a friend who helped me find my way out of it."

"I take it Jason was the friend who helped you when no one else could?"

"Yes he helped me in so many ways, without even trying too. I was able to do, feel, act the way I wanted too, instead of how I was supposed too. He never told me what to do, or how I should be feeling, he was just my friend." Her eyes were soft in the memory. "And in the end I'm the one who failed him."

"Because of Lucky?" Audrey couldn't believe how blind she had been to Lucky's manipulations and to her granddaughter's pain. She had been so relieved when Lucky had returned. First, because, she had grown fond of him, and was grateful that he was alive. She was also glad because, she had watched Elizabeth mourn for him for months. But another part of her was relieved because she thought it would mean the end of Elizabeth's association with Jason and Mr. Corinthos.

She had turned a blind eye to Elizabeth's unhappiness until it was almost too late. It was only in the last few weeks that she had learned how fully Lucky had consumed her life. He had become the only person in her life, and that wasn't healthy.

"I can't blame Lucky for everything," Elizabeth admitted softly. "What I said earlier was true. Today was the first time we really talked. When he first came back he was angry all the time. I learned quickly not to mention the past or what I was feeling or he would walk away. It was hard but I trained myself to do it, to only discuss certain things with him, safe topics. Later when we found out about the brainwashing I kept doing that, because I didn't want to put any more pressure on him." 

It was hard realizing how long she had been lying to herself, even harder to admit that to another person. "By the time we finally got back together, I had gotten used to not telling him things. If I was unhappy or unsure, and he didn't notice it, I never brought it up. Any relationship is bound to fail when one person keeps the truth from the other."

She took a long drink from her water while she considered how to explain the next part. "I didn't realize that was what I was doing until Jason came back. He knew me so well, he could see I wasn't happy, only pretending to be. He knew it before I did." She had discovered that it was hard to sit still while baring her soul, so she shifted again. "Unfortunately, when I finally started realizing that, I didn't want to believe it and that was what led me to make things awful for all three of us. It led me to ruin my friendship with Jason, my trust with Lucky, and my respect for myself. And I can't blame Lucky for that."

"It was a hard time for you Elizabeth. You shouldn't take it all on yourself."

"I didn't make things better. I need to be honest here. Jason was my friend, a man who never lied to me, who always listened to me, who never hurt me, or told me what to do. He was my friend even when I hurt him. The pain I must have caused him, can't be undone. But I hope he'll let me try to prove to him that I can be the friend that he deserves. A friend like I once was to him." And if that was possible, maybe one day she could be more than a friend as well, she sighed at that hopeful thought and studied the dark sky visible from the window again.

Audrey considered what Elizabeth had said about Jason, and what she had told her about him during these weeks. A part of her was terrified that Elizabeth's continued association with Jason would get her hurt. Although they had never discussed it, she was aware of the bomb that had been placed in Elizabeth's studio. A bomb that was there because of Jason Morgan, that knowledge alone should be enough to make her counsel against the renewal of their friendship.

But studying her granddaughters sad but determined face, she couldn't quite bring herself to go into the old warnings of how he was dangerous. Not that Elizabeth would listen anyway, but she didn't really feel like trying. The fact that Lucky, someone she had ultimately approved of, had very nearly sucked the life out of her granddaughter, and in fact the only way Elizabeth had found the strength to free herself was by dying, made her question her judgment.

How could she tell Elizabeth to stay away from Jason when she was finally learning to stand on her feet again? She said she wasn't trying to find him to begin a romance, and Audrey believed her. Elizabeth had also said that the relationship was a priority for her though. She had only recently learned of how good of a friend Jason had been to Elizabeth, and that had been good to hear, but there was one thing that still concerned her.

"Elizabeth," she waited until she had her attention. "You told me that Jason wanted more than just a friendship from you."

Elizabeth colored slightly and nodded her head. She really couldn't believe that she had told her grandmother that, it must have been all the margaritas she had drank on her birthday.

"What if he still wants that?"

"He won't." Elizabeth was a little sad as she explained. "I saw his eyes when I turned him down Gram, I hurt him. I hurt him worse in that instant, then I had in all the weeks leading up to that night in the park. Jason won't let himself be hurt like that again. It's funny but that night was the only time in our whole relationship that I felt pressure from him. When he asked me to go with him, it was like an ultimatum. Jason represented the unknown, and Lucky was known. He scared me, the thought of leaving everything behind and just going with him, scared me, so I clung to what I knew. I didn't handle it very well, of course I didn't handle anything very well during that time. I need to rebuild my trust with him, rebuild my friendship with him. That's all I'm hoping to get out of this trip, a start at rebuilding our friendship. Well besides seeing Emily again, that is."

__

"Ladies and gentlemen we are beginning our descent into the Ontario airport. Please return your seat backs and trays to the upright and locked position."

"Well you will soon have your chance." Audrey commented.

"A chance," Elizabeth whispered and looked at the lights on the ground that were moving closer to them. "A chance is all I want."


	3. Taking the chance

****

The Brush Off Grown Up Style

Conclusion

****

~Rehabilitation Center~

She had been waiting for two days. Well technically that wasn't true. She had been waiting for months to talk to him. The last two days only seemed like forever because she knew it was almost time to see him. Nervously Elizabeth rubbed her hands over the smooth fabric of her pencil thin lavender skirt. With her matching soft mock turtleneck sweater of the same color she looked poised and in control.

But she wasn't.

There was too much riding on the next hour or so for her to relax. There was too much tension inside of her, for her to be in control. But at least she looked the part. She chewed on her lip and took her seat again. Not that her looks would mean a thing though. Jason always saw through what she said or did. He knew when she was lying, when she wasn't. She wasn't going to fool him with some illusion of poise, but she still felt like trying.

She looked up when the elevator dinged announcing it's presence and held her breath as the doors opened. It escaped in whoosh when a woman walked out and down the hall. Elizabeth slumped back in the chair in a mixture of disappointment and relief. She had thought she was prepared to see him. She had thought she was ready until Emily said he was on his way, and the bottom dropped out of her stomach. The rest of her conversation with Emily had passed by in a daze as she went over in her mind what she needed to say to him and how to say it. She might only get once chance with him and she didn't want to blow it.

The stairway door opened and she glanced over, more in relief to be sidetracked from her thoughts, then curiosity. Her senses seemed to go to red alert when she recognized him. The black jacket was the same one she had held onto countless nights before. The black jeans fit snugly but not too tight and led into black boots. The shirt was gray and she had no doubt that it was one of those soft long-sleeved fleece ones that he seemed to favor. 

His attention was focused on a slip of paper in his hand and she was glad for that. It gave her a minute to get t her feet, to study him, to collect herself and prepare for the conversation that was to come. At least it should have.

In truth she never got passed the studying part.

She knew she had missed him but she wasn't aware of how much she had, until right then when she was faced with him again. Her eyes drank in the sight of him, and he looked good. From the darker then normal spikes of his close-cropped hair to the fading remnants of the tan on his hands, he looked good. And she wanted him back in her life, more than almost anything else.

He began to move away from her without looking up, heading down the hall to Emily's room. She stood there watching Jason move as indecision wracked her. Maybe it was better is she just let him go, at least for now anyway. She could wait until he returned to Port Charles to talk to him again. By that time she might have her life in a little more order. If she were honest with herself, she would have to admit that other than rebuilding her relationship with her Grandmother and ending things with Lucky she hadn't done a whole hell of a lot yet. She was still trying to find a way to become Elizabeth Webber independent woman. 

Was it fair of her to want to drag him back into her world before she had a chance to discover who she was? For weeks she had been so sure it was, but now, faced with his departing back, she was beginning to believe it wasn't fair to him. 

She could leave. He didn't know she was here. No one knew she was here, besides Emily and her Grandmother. Emily wouldn't say anything if she asked her not too. And she knew her Gram would be only too happy not to mention her presence to Jason.

She wanted their friendship back. That mush was true. But she wanted it on equal footing this time. The last few times he had returned it seemed that it was all about what he could do for her, and not what she could do for him, and that wasn't right. She didn't want a friendship based on what she could do for him, or what he could do for her. She wanted an equal friendship this time. She didn't want to hurt him again. She couldn't bear it if she hurt him again. So maybe she should wait to approach him, until things got more settled.

Jason hesitated in his advance down the hall, at the same time she decided to let him go for now, and wait until he came back to Port Charles to talk to him. She picked up her purse and headed for the elevator.

"Elizabeth?"

Jason's voice stopped her in her tracks. "Too late," she muttered before turning to face him. "Hi Jason. It's good to see you."

"I'm surprised to see you here," he moved closer.

The elevator doors opened and people began to spill out, forcing her to take a step back from him so she wasn't trampled. It also gave her a minute to fight the urge to give him a hug in welcome. She knew he wouldn't pull away from her, but she didn't want to force it on him either. "I was able to get in touch with Emily after Sorel was killed," she explained when the crowd thinned out. "I've been traveling and I decided to come see her," and you, was the end of the sentence, that of course she didn't say.

"That's good, I know she missed you," he shoved the paper in his pocket and focused on her. "I bet she was glad to see you."

"Surprised is more like it." She corrected with a smile. "She looks great, I'm glad the second surgery seems to be working. I really can't say that I'm happy with the fake _Dear John_ phone call brush-off she gave to Zander, but I'm the last person who should be allowed to criticize another's decision." It was easy to talk when she was nervous. She could talk chapter and verse when she was nervous, and she was definitely nervous. That surprised her a little bit, she never used to be nervous around him.

"I know when she had the setback and had to have surgery again, that she decided it was better to let Zander go, rather then make him wait in limbo for her again. But I can't help thinking that she was wrong to do that. Her letters used to be full of such hope for the future and determination to get better, and now they aren't."

By now Jason had cocked his head and tucked his hands in the back pocket of his jeans while he studied her. She couldn't help but smile at the expression on his face, he always looked at her like that when she went off on a tangent. "I sort of went off there didn't I?" She asked sheepishly.

"You have that tendency," he agreed with a nod. "So were you going to see her now?"

"No, I've been here pretty solid for the last two days. I've said my goodbyes and we have a plane to catch in the morning." Moment of truth time, she realized. She examined her hands hoping to find the answer there. But the pink _'Prissy'_ nail color was all she saw. It looked like she was on her own.

"Actually I was waiting to talk to you. Emily said you were on your way."

"Then why were you leaving?" he asked inclining his head to the elevator.

"Nerves I guess," she shrugged then steeled herself to go on. "I wanted to apologize to you, and see if there is anyway that we can try to rebuild our friendship."

"We are friends." Jason answered immediately.

A smile lit her face and happiness took root until she saw his stance. His tone of voice had been aloof, and his stance was formal, so the words, no matter how sweet to her ears, were empty. On a sigh of disappointment over having her fears proven correct she sank in a chair. "No were not. Not really."

Jason took a seat on the couch beside her. "I'm not lying."

"I know that," she sat up straight and met his gaze. "You don't lie and I know that. I've always known that, and that is yet another thing I need to apologize to you about. I doubted what you said about Lucky, I even called you names, and all the time you did nothing but tell me the truth. I can't begin to tell you how much I regret that."

Jason shrugged. "It's in the past." 

No it wasn't, she could tell that much, from the cool look in his eyes. "Not yet it isn't, and it won't be until I finish this." She searched her mind, trying to think of where she wanted to begin. "You know I had this whole speech outlined in my head. I had weeks to hone it to perfection, and now that it's time to give it, I've already slipped off track and forgotten it."

She shook her head and twisted the purse strap in her hands. "Maybe that's for the best though. Because now I'll have to speak from my heart, and that's something I'm just learning how to do again." She focused on his face and saw a hint of confusion in his eyes, or was it tiredness? "I meant what I said, a part of me knew you weren't lying about Lucky attacking you." She couldn't help but notice how flat his eyes went at the mention of Lucky's name, but she continued on. "You already knew that though, you called me on it when I kept following you. A part of me knew, but I wasn't ready to admit it. I'm sorry I hurt you by doubting you."

"Elizabeth what's past is past. There is no use in discussing it now." Jason shifted on the couch.

"Believe me, I don't like bringing this up, anymore then you like talking about it. But I have too. I need to do this so I can go on," she wrinkled her nose in an uncomfortable realization. "I thought I was getting better about my selfishness, but I guess I still am a little bit selfish, because I need you to hear this. I need you to forgive me, or if you can't do that, to see if you can move past it, and let us start over again."

"If this is about the way we left things in April, you made your decision."

"I know and I stand by my decision to stay, and that isn't what I'm apologizing for." On that she was firm. "Staying was the right thing for me to do. But hurting you wasn't. I spent weeks, no months, abusing our friendship, and even though I have no right to ask this of you." She met his eyes again, "I want us to be friends again."

Jason sighed heavily and she couldn't help but notice how uncomfortable he looked. Maybe she should have waited to talk to him after all. She let out a shaky breath, in for a penny in for a pound.

"I can see where I went off track with you so clearly in my mind. I've relived it dozens of time in my head. You don't look back, while I've spent so much time looking back, that for a long time I forgot how to move forward."

As usual he was quiet, his eyes on her face as he listened to her. He had that ability to focus on her and what she was saying so deeply that it was like she was the only person in the world at that moment. At times she had found that scrutiny to be uncomfortable, but that was when she was trying to hide from him.

She wasn't hiding anymore.

"It was Valentine's Day last year. I watched you run into that burning building, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like you weren't even afraid of being burned."

"I was afraid," he admitted softly. "But there was no other choice for me, Sonny was in there."

"And he's your friend," she nodded in understanding. "You would do anything for your friends, but it still scared me. It took so long for you to come out, that I was halfway convinced that I'd never see you again, and then you materialized out of the smoke, with Sonny." It was easy to recall the emotion she had felt at that moment. The emotion she still felt whenever she thought about that day. Fear, terror, and loss had morphed into relief, longing, and…

"After Carly you were the first person I saw."

Elizabeth blinked and focused on him again. "I wanted to see if you okay. To touch you in order to convince myself you were, but I didn't. Instead I left you there, coughing, in a spot you could have died in." She hit her thigh in self-loathing at that, even after all this time, she hated what she had done to him. "Instead of being your friend. Instead of being there when you needed a friend, I walked away. I walked away and that was when our friendship changed."

Jason ran a hand over his cheek, his face set in stone at the moment. "Lucky was there," he explained simply.

"I can't blame everything on Lucky," she interrupted him refusing to take the easy way out. Not this time. "I could have stood up for our friendship. I had done so in the past, several times. Yet this time I chose to walk away. The why's, the explanations, don't really mean very much, and after all this time they would only sound hollow. I can only say that I'm sorry and ask you for another chance. A chance to make things right with you. I can promise you that this time I won't walk away."

His eyes shifted from hers to the elevator when it dinged again, and a nurse got off. His gaze was so intense on her, that the nurse faltered a step, and touched her throat nervously when he didn't look away. Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at the unease of the nurse, she didn't know whether to smile at the handsome man looking at her, or to run away. She had felt that way herself once or twice. Jason could be overwhelming at times, and she knew him, she could only imagine what the blonde nurse was thinking. The blonde gave a half-smile, to which Jason was oblivious too, and hurried away, darting several looks over her shoulder as she left.

"I already told you Elizabeth, as far as I'm concerned we are friends."

His words drew her attention from the amusing nurse. It took her a second, but when she recognized what he said, the first whiff of anger took hold. "Damn'it Jason I've had enough gratitude friendship to last me a lifetime," she huffed out a breath and her eyes lit in anger. "I know you. You might be surprised how well I know you, and I don't blame you, because I sure haven't acted like I do. But I do know you. You will always consider me a friend because I saved your life. But I don't want that type of friendship with you, or with anyone. Friendships borne out of duty, obligation, or gratitude, are the worst kinds."

She tucked the aggravating strand of hair behind her ear and hurried on. "I want you to be able to admit that were friends with the wry smile you used to have in your eyes, when you saw me. I want you to be able to relax around me again. I want you to know, that no matter what I won't walk away this time." She touched his hand when she made that vow. "In order to do that I need you to give me another chance to prove to you that I can be the type of friend I once was to you, again."

Jason looked down at her hand, which was still on his then searched her face again. "Are being friends all you want?"

"It's all I can handle right now," she whispered honestly. "I told you I've been traveling trying to make sense of my life. I realized that most of the changes in my life, in the last several years have been forced on me. That although it was my life, I only existed in it, I didn't live it. The first major change, came when I was raped. I changed because a part of me died that night. The person I once was, was gone forever, and I had to become a new person, not because I wanted too, but because I had too in order to survive."

"The second change was also forced on me, when Lucky died. Again I didn't have any control, or in any say in the matter. I had to change, because staying that person who loved Lucky and couldn't move forward without him, was slowly, but surely killing me. So I changed, and you helped a lot with that, like Lucky helped me after the rape. But it was different at the same time. I didn't build my world around you, like I did with him. Even if I had wanted too, you wouldn't have let me. Instead I built my world around myself," she looked down at their joined hands, a little surprised that he hadn't drawn away yet. "Although you did have a major role to play in that life, even after you left."

"Change was forced on me again when Lucky came back. I changed by trying to slip back into the Elizabeth that had existed before he left. It would have never worked, but it took me a very long time to see that, you might even say I had to die in order to see it," she said with a wry grin. "But I finally did."

"Now I'm changing again. But the difference is, I'm changing because I **want** to, not because I **have** too. And because of that, this time it'll work. Because all the changing, all the decisions, all the chances I'm taking, are all my decisions. They aren't being forced on me, they aren't being made because I have no other choice," she smiled again. "They are my choices, because I'm finally living my life for me. And one of those choices is to repair a friendship that once meant everything to me."

"It sounds like you're finally taking control of your life again," Jason murmured after a minute. "That's all I ever wanted for you. I just wanted you to be happy," he hesitated for another minute. "What does Lucky say about the new you?"

"Lucky?" she repeated in surprise. "Why should what he thinks matter?"

Jason turned on her with a look on his face that she hadn't seen before, and it took her a moment to place it…as disbelief. She let out a laugh at the realization, and he frowned causing her to laugh harder. "I'm sorry, I thought I told you," she gasped the words out. "So much for being ready for this conversation," she muttered brushing the tears, caused by her laughter from her eyes. "Lucky and I broke up."

He looked a little surprised at that admission. "Are you okay?"

She wasn't surprised that his first question would be one of concern for her. He'd always been that way. Even back in the beginning weeks of their friendship. She remembered the day after Katherine Belle had died, he had sought her out, to see if she was okay about it, because he knew she had been there. That felt like a lifetime ago.

"Elizabeth?"

"Sorry," she said with a start. "I'm fine. I decided to end things on my own. And Lucky decided on his own that we should break up, and we sort of met in the middle and broke up."

"I'm glad you're not hurt over it."

"I'm a little sad," she admitted. "Even though it was the right thing to do, it's hard to close off a dream for the final time. It would have been worse if we kept clinging to the past instead of moving forward though. You were right all along. Lucky was still sick, and things got a lot worse before they got better," she glossed over the details. "But he's in therapy now, and it appears to be working this time. I actually had a conversation with him the other day, that had glimpses of the boy I once knew in it."

"When you said that you were here with someone, I assumed it was him," he admitted softly, his eyes asking the question.

"Actually I'm with my Gram. I need to rebuild my relationship with her too. I sort of lost everything else in my life in trying to hold onto the past." She shifted so she was facing him squarely. "She gave me another chance. Will you?"

He was quiet and didn't answer right away, he even shifted his eyes away, to look at the elevator when it opened again, and she knew then how much she had hurt him. She didn't want to put him on the spot and hurt him even more.

"Jason I want a chance to remind you how good of a friend that I can be. But if your not ready, or don't want to offer me another chance, I won't push you." She got to her feet and when he went to rise she put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down.

"I'll take the obligatory friendship that you have already admitted still exists between us," she smiled slyly. "I'll take that and use it to prove to you how good of a friend I am. I'll impress you so much that eventually when you call me friend you won't tense up."

He shook his head and she could see a trace of a smile on his lips and she clung to that. Taking a chance she rested her hand on his cheek, drawing his eyes to hers again. His skin was warm under her hand, the bones in his face felt strong under her touch and he made no effort to pull away, he only looked up at her.

"You see not only am I still selfish, in the fact that I'll take you in my life in anyway I can have you," she teased as she marveled at the texture of his skin. It was smooth in places, yet in others it was rough with the breaking stubble, on his cheek, and she filed the memory away. "I'm also following your request. You wanted me to be happy. Well it's taken me a few months, but I'm finally starting to do that. Don't forget how determined I can be, when I want something."

He nodded his head and she dropped her hand. "A brat is what I think you said."

Her smile was wide and hope surged inside her. "You got it in one. Just think about it." Giving into temptation she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his forehead in a long lingering caress of farewell. Again he made no move to pull away from her, and when she finally stepped back his normally clear eyes were a swirling mixture of blues. "See you later."

Elizabeth turned and headed for the elevator, she didn't want to show him the tears that saying farewell to him caused. Luck was on her side and the doors opened as she approached it. She turned to look at him, he had followed her to the elevator, and the expression on his face wasn't as tight as it had been. "I forgot to wish you a Merry Christmas, it's next week, and I wouldn't want you to forget to get a tree."

"Tree's belong in the woods," he reminded her with a slow smile.

"Not with the right decorator." She grinned at him. "And you happen to be the paper chain expert after all." 

The doors began to close as he shook his head, the smile still on his face. "See you later Elizabeth."

Elizabeth leaned back against the wall in relief. It looked like she had her second chance after all.

****

~Port Charles Hotel~

"Damn I forgot the Breezeway file."

"Do you want me to get it?" Elizabeth stopped buttoning her coat mid-motion and focused on her boss.

"No," Alexis Davis shifted her coat to her other arm. "I'll get it. I need to tell Lee something else anyway. I'll only be a few minutes. Wait here, and I'll give you a ride home."

"That's okay," Elizabeth fished her fleece-lined gloves out of her pocket. "I'd rather walk."

"Walk?" Alexis looked past her to the night visible through the door. "It isn't even 30 degrees out there."

"You forget I'm used to cold weather. I grew up in Colorado, not an island," she teased and seeing the concern in Alexis' dark eyes she hurried on. "It's only 6 blocks. The ice has melted, so has most of the snow, and I'll be on well-lighted and well-traveled sidewalks the whole way." Inspired she stuck her tongue in her cheek and continued on in a singsong voice. "So please mom can I walk? I promise I'll look both ways before I cross the street."

"Brat," Alexis chided. "Remind me again why I hired you?"

"You had a weak a moment." Elizabeth explained her expression serious. "Then as soon as I got through the door, I rearranged your office, so only I know where things are. Thus becoming indispensable."

"I knew there was reason." Alexis muttered, checking her watch again. "I need to hurry if I want to catch Lee then get changed before…" she trailed off hoping her assistant wouldn't catch the slip, but she was doomed to disappointment.

"So which 'friend' won the _it's not a date, it's a dinner_ competition tonight?" Elizabeth asked causing her boss to groan. "Tall and blonde or dark with dimples?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not dating anyone at the moment." Alexis began to search her purse, for what she didn't know, but it was better then looking at the teasing expression on Elizabeth's face.

"Now come on Alexis we agreed. You are required to give me details that way I can live vicariously though your love life, since I don't have one."

"Jax and I are **friends**." Alexis explained patiently for the billionth time.

"So Jax is on tap for tonight?" Elizabeth pressed.

"Yes," she huffed." "Don't you have a walk to make?"

Elizabeth wrapped the scarf around her neck and smiled at the doorman before making a parting shot. "Live a little Alexis, grab on before the opportunity passes you by. Besides have you seen the way he fills out his…" she winked causing Alexis to glare at her. "I wouldn't let such an opportunity pass you by, trust me when I say you will regret it, if you do."

Alexis shook her head in surprise as her assistant left. Elizabeth had proven to be a great worker and an even better friend. She also happened to be right about Jax, he did fill out his…

"Is that smile for me?"

The accented voice drew her from her thoughts and caused her to flush. Damn Elizabeth.

~*~

Elizabeth hummed to herself as she walked along the path. The night was clear and the air was crisp and clean. She loved times like this. The night was cold, but because there was no wind, it seemed somehow warmer. Like she had told Alexis the sidewalks were clear, and she'd easily spotted and avoided the sole patch of ice, she'd seen thus far.

The quiet of the night beckoned her and she welcomed it gladly. She had shut herself off from such simple things like noticing how beautiful a winter's walk could be. She had avoided the simple pleasures for so long, that rediscovering them now, was a constant delight to her. Her life was taking off in a way that she hadn't seriously allowed herself to consider before.

She paused at the corner, waiting for the light to turn green and absently let herself wonder how she had gotten here. It was almost as if the fates were just waiting for her to take control of her life. Because once she had, things started falling in line.

Things like her job with Alexis. At first she had been a little unsure if she could handle it. Alexis had intimidated the hell out of her. She couldn't help but smile at that. She had seen Alexis flounder in her personal life. Vivid memories of helping her shop for a wedding dress for her ill-fated wedding to Ned assailed her. Her personal life might be out of control, but not her professional life. When it came to her work, Alexis was cool, confident, brilliant, in control, and intimidating.

Any hesitation that she'd felt in working solely for Alexis vanished quickly though. Not only did they work well together, they had also become good friends. Making friends with Alexis had illustrated how narrow she had let her life become. Her world had been centered around Lucky, with Emily, Nikolas, Gia, and occasionally Zander mixed in. It was scary to realize how lonely and isolated she had been.

But now the group of people around her was ever widening and for that she was grateful. She had met people through her classes, through her work, even where she lived. Her old friends were still included, they had been through too much together to ever be forgotten. But they weren't the only people in her life now. 

The only person still missing was Jason. 

At first she had been so hopeful, with how they left things at the hospital, but now, some 58 days later, without a peep from him, she was beginning to wonder. It was true that he was free to go where he wanted too, and he had made no bones about the fact that he loved to travel, but she couldn't help hoping that he would return home. She had thought he might, after Emily returned two weeks ago, but she admitted she hadn't seen him in at least a week, and she had no idea where he was going, when he had left her.

Well Rome wasn't built in a day. And she could be patient and stubborn when she needed too. So she would keep hoping he would return, but she wasn't putting her life on hold until he did. She wasn't putting her life on hold for anyone anymore. When he came back, then they'd see if their friendship could survive, but until then, she had living to do.

A couple drawing closer caught her eye. The woman was small and blonde, while the man tall with dark hair. Their coloring and looks were the direct compliment of each other, yet they made a very striking couple. They were close together as they walked, as if they couldn't bear not to be touching. Her arm was looped through his, and her head rested on his arm. The expression on their face was one of such love and contentment, that her fingers itched to sketch them.

She turned around for one last glimpse of the couple, trying to memorize their expressions, then turned to hurry to her apartment, to put it on paper before the image faded. She took a step and the couple vanished from her mind when her eye fell on a man leaning against a motorcycle, a few yards away.

"Jason?" She stumbled to a stop, not wanting to move closer, in case he vanished.

"Elizabeth," he pushed away from the bike and took a step closer to her.

"God you're really here." Delight propelled her to move and she covered the last few feet between them to give him the hug that his arms were already open and waiting for.

"It's good to see you," he whispered the words in her ear as he lifted her from her feet, bringing their contact even closer.

His breath on her ear caused her stomach to twist a little bit, so did the feel of his body pressed against hers. But it was good kind of twist. One that she could get used too. He set her on her feet and she stepped back, her eyes shining in happiness. "I missed you."

"I missed you too Elizabeth." Jason dropped his hands. "Alexis told me I'd find you walking along here."

She saw the questions in his eyes. "I have a new apartment, it's a few blocks down. I also have a new job."

"Tammy told me that when I stopped by Kelly's."

Pleasure that he had been looking for her, or at the very least, asked about her, caused her smile to get even wider. "I told you I was taking charge of my life."

"Yes you did," he crossed his arms over his chest and his expression grew serious. "You also didn't tell me a few things."

Elizabeth huffed out a breath. "They weren't important."

"How can you say that?" He demanded. "You took a drug to promote the illusion of death. That is very important."

"It was also necessary at the time," she answered honestly. "I wasn't lying to you by not telling you. What was important to me the last time I saw you, was fixing our friendship. Not telling you what happened after you left town."

"Still," he took a hard breath and tried to bury the anger he felt over the risks she had taken with her life. "It was very dangerous to do."

"I know. But we tried to make it as safe as possible," she touched his arm and caused his eyes to focus on her again. "Don't you see that taking that drug was my burning building Jason?"

"What?"

"Lucky was then, and will always be my friend. He needed my help, so I took the drug. Just like when Sonny needed your help, you went into the burning building." She continued on when he went to interrupt. "I don't regret doing it, and I won't apologize for it. Just like I don't expect you to apologize for scaring me when you went in that building. I did what I felt was necessary, just like you did and no one will make me regret it, not even you."

Jason took a step away and rubbed a hand over his neck in frustration. He could tell from the tone of her voice, that she meant what she said. He could also see her point. He couldn't condemn her for doing whatever she had too, to help a friend. Not when he did the same, not when she had once done the same for him. The fact that it was Lucky she risked herself bothered him, but that was on a different level, one of jealousy. And it wasn't right, 

"Jason?" The realization that he might never understand why she had done what she did, was staring her in the face and it scared her. "I'm sorry if you can't understand that. But I told you I wouldn't apologize for helping him. I've apologized to you, for everything I did wrong, and I hoped you would want to see if our friendship was worth saving. But if I need to apologize for helping Lucky," she shook her head. "I won't, even if that means we can't be friends anymore."

Jason let out a sigh and let the jealousy go.

Taking the sigh as one of agreement, she turned around and began to walk away from him, fighting the sudden feeling of tears that were welling up behind her eyes. "Goodbye Jason."

"Wait," he caught her arm before she took another step. "I understand Elizabeth, I don't like it, but I do understand why you did it."

She blinked away the tears and looked up at him. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Good," she sighed in relief. "So does that mean we can try to be friends again?" She bit her lip and waited for his reply.

He stepped away from her. "Do you know what today is?"

She nodded and waited.

"I was going to Jake's to play some pool. I was wondering if you want to go with me?" He inclined his head. "It'll be cold on the bike though, and you really aren't dressed for it."

"I don't feel the cold," she led the way to the bike.

He held out the helmet. "Since when?"

"Since now," she laughed and waited until he got on the bike before climbing on after him. "Happy Valentine's Day Jason."

He turned partially so he could see her face. "Happy Valentine's Day Elizabeth."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

So that's my version of how I would have ended L&L2. Doing it this way seemed to keep the characters integrity, which is something I always want to see.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Stephanie


End file.
